Envelope-opening machine



April 28, 1931. E. L. BOUTON ENVELOPE OPENING MACHINE 16, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov.

April 28, 1931- L. BOUTON 1,803,050

ENVELOPE OPENING MACHINE Filed Nov. 16, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 if INVENTOR.

ELfiau tom,

A TTORNE Y.

April 28, 1931. E. L. BOUT ON ENVELOPE OPENING MACHINE Filed Nov. 16. 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 N VEN TOR. ZfLfiazMazg A TTORNE Y.

E. L. BOUTON EHVELOIfE OPENING MACHINE April 28, I 931.

Filed Nov.

16 1928 4; Sheets-Sheet 4 1 N VEN TOR.

A TTORNE Y.

Patented Apr. 28, 1931 ELDRIYD'L BO-TITGYNT, on msrnannnsmn, PENNSYLVANIA.

ENVEIOPE-OPENING MACHINE Application filed-November 16, 1928. Serial No. 319,986;

This inventionrelates to envelopegopen,

ing 'machines', and more particularly to a machine in which the unsealed flaps of envelops are: reversed from normally closed po- 5- si-tiorr to' open position preliminary to passinthe opened envelopes to' a'filling machine W ere the open envelopes are automatically fi-lled, such a filling machine being illustrated and described in my appl'icati'on,.'Serial' To No; 342*,982, filed February 27, 1929.

The present invention is not to be confused with envelope opening machines which are adapted to cut, slit or open envelopes that have been seale-cbbnt on the contrary is I'5' adapted to treat envelopes which ulnsealed and in which the flap thereof is folded down adjacent the body of the envelope and i must be swung to open position before the envelope can receive its contents.

'1hepresent inventionis designed to receive the envelopes with their flaps in folded condition in stack formation, and by feeding the same, oneiat atime, from. the bottom of the stack, to pass the envelopes automatr Cally through a series of operations and lin'a'lly discharge the envelopes from themac'h'in'e in stacked relation and with the flaps in open position, so that the stacks of opened envelopes may be promptly removed and placed in a magazine oi the envelope filling machine Without the necessity of any r'earrangement or further operation'sfon' the partof theoperator; I

An object of my invention',threfore, is to automatically treat elrvelopes soyth'at When they are delivered fromthe machine the flaps stand in a vertical positi-on and' in substantially the same plane the back of the envelope, ready to receive their contents. By

" the bac-k'ori' the envelope I here refer'to that: side of'the envelope which customarily re" eeives the address;

Another object is to properly. stack the;

. opened envelopes as they leave the machine:

so as to eliminate further handling thereof by the operator of the machine, except to transferthe stack oi 'env'eiopes to the filling machine. p I

An ad'dit'fonal' object isto. so open the flap of the envelope that it will maintain its opened position permanently and willn-ot assume its normal folded position after leav ing the machine. I I

A still further object is to initially separate the flap of the envelope" from the body 55' thereof in the event the gummed surface of the flap has adhered to the body, this operation taking place prior to" the ironing or pressing'out of the flap, so as to insure proper v engagement of the pressing rolls with the 6'9" flap after the same has been opened. I

It is'Well known that envelopes which have been maintained in stacked relationgfor any period of time are likely to have the gumnied surface of the envelope flap adhere slightly 6?? to thebody thereof. If such an envelope is passed through'known machines of the present cl1aracter,-there is grave danger that the flap will not be initially separated from the body, and consequently any further opera tion's' Whi'eh' are designed to' reverse the positi'on of the flap" are futile, dueto the fact that theflap still adheres to the body of the" envelope. In the present instance,however, I have madeprovision for such contingency by providing means which flex thetbo-dylof the envelope relatively to the flap thereof, and in this manner any adhesion ofthe ii'ap to the body is broken, so that the subsequent operations of flattening out the flap can be 8 properly performed.

In opening or reversing the position of envelope flaps for the lirstti'me, it will be found that adjacent to the line of fold of the flap the body of the envelope is bulged in wardly and forms an obstruction to any material that is inserted into'the envel e-pe- Such a bulge isl rigl'rl y detrimei-ital to the successful operation of the automatic machines for Q inserting foldersor' other mail matter into envelopes, due-tothe fact that suchmail matter engages on, top of the bulge and isinot inserted completely into the envelope. Snellopgn ation often ca rrses foul-ingroi the machine, and it is a still further object ofthe present invention to so treat. the envelope that this bulge is entirely eliminated and no obstructions remain in the path of the mail matter being'inserted into theenvelope. I

()therobjects and advantages ofthe' present machine will be readily ascertained as the description proceeds, and while I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my machine I desire it to be understood that changes in details of construction, size and formation of the various parts may be re sorted to without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims hereto appended.

In describing the machine, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, in which corresponding parts are similarly numbered throughout the several Views, and in which,

Figure 1 is a side view of the machine with certain parts thereof indicated in dotted lines to more clearly illustrate the co-r-elation of the various parts.

Fig.2 is an end view of the machine, lookingfrom the left hand end of Fig.1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan View, illus trating the automatic trip mechanism.

.Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the machine, taken immediately to the rear of one oft-he side frames of the machine. l

5 is a detail View showing the feed roller drive and the automatic trip mechanismand their operative relation.

' Fig. 6 is a front view of the mechanism shown in Fig.5.

Fig. 7 is a front view of the ironing blade by means of whichthe'envelope fold line is broken, parts thereofbeing shown in section. Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 88 of Fig. 7. F

Fig. 9 is a detail view of the deflecting arms and their mountings as seen from B in Fig. 5.

Fig. 10 illustrates an additional detail of the tripping mechanism and its manner of support as seen froniA in Fig. 11 is a detail perspective view of the latch of my tripping mechanisms Figs. 12 to 17, inclusive, are diagrammatic illustrations of the progress of an envelope through the machine and the various opera tions that are performed thereon to accomplish the desired results.

. Fig. 18 is a sectional View of an ordinary envelope with its flap openechand illustrates the bulge that ispresent in the body thereof adjacent the flap folding line.

- Fig.- 19. is a plan. view illustrating the envelope stackerconstruction. 7

Referring more particularly to. the drawings, I provide a frame generally indicated atAand comprising the side walls 1 and 2 which are spaced from each other by means ofsuitable tie rods 3. The frames'are-provided with-supporting feet 4, which may be supported on a stand 5 having at the upperends thereof sockets 6 adapted to receive the feet 4. It is to be understood, of course, that the manner of supporting the machine is imrods 8 Iprovide a guide plate 9 pivoted on a bearing 10 so that the angle thereof may be varied to properly feed the envelope into the feeding rolls. This adjustment of the guide plate 9 is accomplished by securing thereto an arm 11 provided with an aperture adapted to receive a bolt 12 carried .bythe front guide rods 8, the bolt 12 receiving a thumb screw 13 adaptedto bear against the arm 11 on one side and having a spring 14 coiled about the bolt 12 and bearing against the arm 11 on the opposite side, so that the normal tendency of the spring 14 is to urge the arm 11 away from the front rods 8 and accordingly urge the guide plate9 toward the first feed roll.: By turning the thumb screw '13, therefore, the angularadjustment of the guide plate 9 is accomplished.

Envelopes are adapted to be placed in the magazine 'in stacked formation, and the space between the side walls and the front inostenvelope of the stack resting on the feedv roll. The details of construction of the magazine and the adjustment of the guide plate,

form the subject matter of my co-pendingapplication hereinbe'forereferred to, and further description of the same is believed tobe unnecessary, since this construction forms no part of the present invention.

It will be clear, however, that the top edge ofthe envelope is engaged by means of the adjustable supporting arms 15, which hold thenvelopes, inposition, as clearlyillus trated in Fig. 4. j i i Extending between the'spaced side frames 1 and 2 area plurality of feed and pressing rolls, the feed roller being indicated at 16, andlocated immediately below and at the front edgeof the magazine 7 and inv close proximity to the guide plate 9.- This roller is adapted'to support the lower edge of the bottom envelope of the stack, and being spaced slightly from the edge of the guide plate 9, permitsypassage of the lower; envelope therebetween.

Located adjacent the feed roller 16 are Lsoaoso the spaced ironies and The between the rolls: 17 and 18 issubstantia-lly horizontal, so: that the envelope in passing from the feed roll 16' to the?- said rolls 1? and 18' assumesa a: substantially (horizontal: position. Upon passingthrough the-rolls 17 and 1 8,thelWe'r end of the envelope engagesdefilectiing' arms 19' which; are oi clirved formation, as clearly shown in Fig; 4,. so that the body of the envelope is: flexed; as clearly shown in F 12. The: arm 19 is designed to deflect thelower edge oi theenvelope into position to be receivod betweenother rolls 20 and 21,. the pass between which is located innnediateliy below arms: 19', so that the lower edge oi the! en'- velope is. directed bet Ween the rolls 20 and 21, clear-Ly illustrated in Fig, LE3. e

Belo-v the rolls 20 and 21, I provide an ad-v ditional pair of rotl's- 22and 23 contacting \vitlreaeh other and. between which the envelope is fed from the rolls 20' and 2'1, itbeing noted that the d istanee'ibetween; the -rolils 2F=-221 and. 2223is less than the height or the envelope, and the purpose oi such a1"- a rangeinent will be described; more fnlly herei'nn'fter; l I

Between the: rolls 20'2'l' and the rolrls 22-23 I provide adjustableironing 'hlade 24 the inner edge 25 of which is located in verticalalignment with the pass between the" rolls -2lbut slightlyin advance :of the Pass between the rolls 2223, as clearly illustrated in Fig; 4 of the drawings, the purpose o-t this blade being to engage the back of. the

envelope atter the flap has been-opened fully between the rolls 2D"-2l, and by pulling the of the envelope across the edge of the? ironing blade- 24, the fold line 26. of the envelope is bent rearwardl'y from the verticat position, thereby insuring that the told line is broken so that the flap will not resume its folded position When the envelope leaves the machine; 7, l 5 r Afterthe: envelope has passed through the TQiLlS 22' and it is dropped downwardly into a stackingitrough indicated generally at B. This: stacking trough comprises horizontally spaced rods 28 on: which are mounted the re ceiving arms29" which are so lhcatedi that they uirect': the lovverr edge: of the envelope-into contact with a rotating stacking roller 30 provided: with: spaced projections: 31 thereon which are adapted to engage the envelopes and force them toward the baclrplat-e 32*- which is slidnbly mounted onthe" rods 28 It is; to; be understood that the-back plate 32" at the beginning of operation of themach-ine is adjacent to: the receiving rods 29 and that a-iit'e'r the envelopes taHLbetWeen the rods 29 and plate 32 the stacking roll 30 automaticalpushes: the plate-32 rearward ly until it reaches theistop 3 53,- at'vvhich time the stacked opened envelopes are removed fromthe ma chine transferred to the magazine oi the; filling machine; s

that the envoiopenpon' beingfed from the magazine 7 is passed through a series of rolilers, the first pair of Whichtend to direct the envelope n snbstantiall'y horizontal positlEOIT and against the deflecting arms 19, which curve the body of the: envelope and direct the lower edge thereof into the rolls 2'2I. FIOMCLF these rolls the envelope is fed through the rolls 2% and 23 and the fold line of? the envelope is engaged and broken over the edge 25 of the ironing. blade 24;, after which the envelopes are directed in permanently opened condition to the stacking mechanism. B-

- The purpose oa'i arranging the pass between the rollers 17 and 18- substantially horizontal position and subsequently flexing thebody ofithe ens slope by means; of th d fle ti arms 19 to; preliminarily disengage the flap from the body of the envelope so that the flap wild: subsequently straddle theroller 20;

as clearly slirown in Figs; '15 and 16, and be in. pro-per position to pass theironin'g blade 2ft so that the foidlin-e' of the envelope will bebroken; r

In lit- I have clearly "illustrated'themanner o1 preliminarily disengagingtheflap oi the envelope from the body thereof by flexing. the envelope body 'awayfrom the: flap. However,."shoul=d the deflecting arms 19 remain inthe position illustrated in Figat as the envelope passesto' the rolls 20-2'1, the flap would again be folded into closed position therebyl vision for automatically moving the deflectin'g arms 19' out of the path of traveled the envelope afiterthe envelope has been flexed and the lower end thereof fed-betweemthe rolls 2021. a 4 E I will now proceed to describe the anto= ma ti c means for oscillating. the deflecting arms. By reference to F ig. 5 it Will be seen thatthe defiecting'arins l9rare secured to the oscillating shaft 34-by means of set screws 34, which provides, for adjustmentthereot; and extending from the;' shaft; 342 is .thel'ever 35 which is in turn horizontally extendinghooh 38; i

The main power shaft is indicated at 39,- and receives i-tspower from! an electric motor 40 through the belt 41 to the pulley 4:95 and fromthe pulley to through the gear-431w the pivoted to a vertically dispose-darnr a t-3 aind terminates in: a}

Further description or illustration of the means for driving the feed roll is not believed to be necessary, since this feature is likewise part of my co-pendmg application hereinbefore referred to, and it is described herein merely to show that the means for oscillating the deflecting arms 19 is operated from the main drive of the machine. Extending from the pitm'an arm 46 is a rigid arm 49 carrying a stud or roller 50 on the end thereof which is adapted to engage the hooked end 38 of the arm 36 during portions of the cycle of operation of the pitman rod 46. 7

- From the foregoing it is believed to be clear that upon rotation of the gear 44 and the imparting of intermittent rotary motion to the feed roll 16, the pitman arm 4621s wellas the rigid arm 49 attached thereto will be given a circular motion, and that when the eccentric arm 45' is in substantially its lowermost position, the arm 49 is pulled away from and disen'gagesw'ith the hooked end 38 of the arm 36.

The shaft 34, which carries the'deflecting arms 19, is normally urged by means of the spring'51 (Fig.9) into position adjacent the feed rolls 17 and 18, as indicated in Figs. 12 and 13, so that when the stud 50 is disengaged from the hooked end portion 38 of the arm 36, the spring 51 rotates the shaft 34 so as to snap the arms 19 out of thepath of travel of the envelope, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 14. Further rotation of the gear 44 will again causethe stud 50 on the rigid arm 49 to engage the hooked end 38 of the arm 36, and due to the circular motion imparted to the arm 49 will pull downwardly on the arm 36 and rotate the shaft 34 against the action of the spring 51, thereby oscillating the deflecting 7 arms 19 again into the path of travel of the envelopes, where they are ready to receive the next envelope and deflect the edge thereof into the feed rolls 20 and 21. It will'thus be seen that I have provided automatic means for removing the arms 19 from the path of travel of the envelope'to allow the flap thereof to assume the positionas shown in Fig. 15 for subsequent operation thereon by the rollers 202l. 1

In order to accommodate the machine to envelopes of various sizes, some means must be provided for regulating the time at which the deflecting arms 19 are removed from or placed in the path o f'travel of the envelope, and in order to so' regulate the operation of the deflecting arms 19, I have provided an adjustment of thearm'36 to determine the extent of engagement between the hooked end portion 38 thereof and the stud'50 of the rigid arm 49. From an inspection of Figs. 5, 10 and 11, it willbe seen that the arm 36 ,65. passes through a rectangular slot 52 in the plate 53 and is adapted to reciprocate therethrough. This plate 53 is pivotally supported on the angular bracket 54 secured tov the side frame 1 (Fig. 3) by means of the pin 55 about which is coiled the spring 56, which has one end thereof in engagement with the plate 53and the other end in engagement with the angular bracket 54, so that the plate 53 is normally urged toward the deflecting arms 19, as shown in Fig. 5. Through the other arm of the angular, bracket 54, I pass a screw 57 which is adapted to bear against the edge of the plate 53, thereby holding the plate 53 against the .tension ofspring 56 in the desired position. The plate 53, which has a pivot receiving opening of sufficient size to permit the necessary play of the parts, is urged by the spring 56 in a direction to move the hook or catch 38 of the pivoted arm or link 36 towards the path of movement of the roller 50 of thearm 49, and the screw 57 is adjustable to positively move the plate 53 in the opposite direction, and itforms a stop for holding the plate in its adjusted position. It will be readily seen that byoperation of the screw 57 the plate 53 can be so adjusted as to vary the extent of engagement between the hooked end 38v and the stud 50 on the arm 49, and consequently the periods of time that the deflecting arms 19 remainin the path of travel of the envelope accordingly vary.

By referring to Figs. 7 and 8, it will be seen that I provide for an adjustment of the ironing blade 24 by securing the same to a squared shaft 58 which is supported for rotation by fulcrum pins 59 screwed into the side frames 1 and 2 and engaging recesses 60 in the ends of the squared shaft 58. Rigidly secured to one end of the squared shaft 58 knob 64 is permitted, due to the fact that theshaft 63 is provided with a pin66 passing through an elongated slot 67 in the knob 64. It will thus be seen that upon securing the desired position ofthe squared shaft 58 through adjustment of the knob 64, itis then merely necessary to lock the same in position by means of the jam nut 65, which forces the knob 64, into engagement with theframe 1.

In thismanner the angularposition of the ironing blade 24 can be adjusted to giconditions. I

I further provide for horizontal adjustsuit varyment of the ironing blade 24 so that it mayv be projected more or less into the path of travel of the envelope between the rolls 20-21 and 22-23, as conditions may. re-

quire. The ironing blade 24 is secured to the squared shaft 58 by means of screws 68 passing through elongated slots 69 in the blade 24:, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. The rear edge of the ironing blade 2a is adapted to project beyond the squared shaft 58 and isengaged by the head 70 of the screw 71, it being apparent from the foregoing that by loosening the screw 68 and turn ing the screw 71, the head 70 will force the blade 24: more or less into the path of the en-' velope.

It is found in operation that this adjustment of the ironing blade 2a is essential, due to the fact that the machine is adapted to operate on various stock, and it is evident that heavier stock will need more flexing to break the fold line of the envelope than is the case with light stock envelopes.

My machineis designed for operation by an electric motor, although it is to be understood that any source of power maybe used. However, I have illustrated an electric motor 40 which is supported on a platform 73 provided with ears 74 which embrace the shaft 7 5 and about which the platform 73 is tiltable. Rigidly secured to and extending upwardly from the platform 73 is an upstanding lug 76 provided with an arcuate slot 77 therein which is adaptedto receive the'screw threaded stem 78 provided with a head which passes through the side frame 2 and has on the end thereof a knob. It will thus be apparent that by loosening the knob the platform 73 can be tilted to any extent necessary and secured in place by jamming the knob against the side frame 2. In this way, any stretching of the belt 41 may be taken up. 7. 1 e The stacking roll 30 is carried for rotation with the shaft 80 and has secured to the end thereof the gear 81 which is engaged by the pinion 43 which also engages the gear 4A of the main power shaft 39, the power being imparted from the electric motor 40 to the pulley 42 by means of a pulley 82 secured directly-to the end of the motor shaft f The pulley 42 is carried by a stub shaft 83 which extends through the side frame 1 and carries the pinion 4-3 on the end thereoi. From the pinion 43 all of the operating parts of the machine are driven, and forpurposes of simplification I have illustrated the gear train for driving the feeding rolls and the pressing rolls generally at G, (Fig. 1), but since any suitable drive may be used for impartingrotary movement from the pinion 43 to the various parts, it is not believed to be essential to describe the gear train in detail. I do desire to point out, however, that the rolls 22 and 23 are so geared that they rotate faster than the rolls 20 and 21, the purpose of this variation in speed being to draw the back of the envelope tautly against the ironing edge 25' of the ironing blade 24, so as to insure breaking of thefolding line of the envelope, so that it willno-t resume its folded position when removed from the machine.

To recapitulate, the operation of the ma-- chine is as follows:

By referring toFig. 4, it will be seen that the envelopes in stacked formation are placed in the magazine 7 and rest upon the'feed roller 16 with the bottom envelope resting against the guide plate 9. As the feed roll 16 feeds the bottom envelope from under the stack of envelopes, the lower edge of the envelope will be guided by the plate 9 into the passbetween the rolls 17 and 18, where it will pass in a substantially horizontal p0 sition until the lower-edge engages the defleeting arms 19, which at that time are in a position closest to the rolls 17 and18. The

deflecting arms 19, due to their curvature, deflect the envelope into a substantially ver blade 24. Due to the factthat'the edge 25 i of the blade projects slightly beyond the path of travel of the envelope betweenthe rollers 20-21 and 22 23, the body of the envelope will be curved or buckled over the ironing edge, and-the fold line thereby permanently broken. To insure the breaking of this fold line, the rolls 22 and 23 are so geared that they revolve faster than the rolls 20 and 21, thereby tensioning the envelope over theedge 25 of the blade 24. From the rolls 22 and 23, which further press the fiapof the envelope into the plane of the body thereof, the envelope drops to the stacknig roll 30, assistec l by the arms 29, and will thereby be stacked against the back plate'32,

which moves re'arwardly under the influence of the stacking roll 30 until it en'gagesthe stop 83,'at which time the stack of permanently opened envelopes is removed from the machine. v

As thelower edge of the envelope 1S caught by the rolls 20 and 21,the upper'or flap end of the envelope is still in the bite of the rolls 1? and 18, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14:, and

due to the fact that the deflecting arms 19 have positioned the body of the envelope vertically while the flap is in a substantially horizontalposition, as shown in Fig. 14, it

will be seen thatthe flap is initially disengaged from the body of the envelope and upon being released by the rolls 17 and 18 will assume the position shown in Fi 15, so that upon further movement thereof through the machine, the flap will straddle the roll 20, as shown in Fig. 16, and will thereby be pressed into the same plane as the body of the envelope.

its

Immediately upon the releasing of the flap 7 end of the envelope from the rolls l7 and 18, or immediately prior thereto, the deflecting arms 19 are allowed to snap away from the rolls 17 and 18, as shown in Fig. 14, so that these deflecting arms will not interfere with the flap of the envelope.

Referring now to Fig. 18, I have illustrated a conventional form of envelope consisting of a body 84 and flap 85, the envelope being illustrated as having its flap turned to open position, the folding line of the flap being indicated at 86. It has been found that in opening an envelope for the first time, the act of reversing the flap 85 causesa bulge, as indicated at 88, in the body of the envelope adjacent the fold line 68, this bulge extending inwardly and tending to obstruct the mouth of the envelope. My invention entirely eliminates this bulge, due to the action of the pressing rolls and to the further action of the ironing plate 24 which insures the buckling orbreaking of the fold. line over the edge thereof, and permits the envelope to be ejected from the machine with the flap extending in thesame plane as. the back of the envelope. It is believed to be apparent that in attempting to fill envelopes by automatic machinery, this bulge as indicated at 88 is very objectionable in that it presents a ledge which is very likely to be engaged by the circulars or other mail matter being. inserted into the envelope, and in such case the ma terial would not be properly inserted into the envelope and fouling of the machine would occur.

vFrom the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a very simple, compact, and

relatively inexpensive machine for rapidly handling a number. of envelopes and deliver,- ing them from the machine with their flaps in a permanently opened condition, so that they can readily be placed in a suitable-magazine in an envelope filling machine such as described in my co-pending application without the necessity of any rearrangement thereof. y i

It is further to be'seen that I insure the proper operation offlattening out'the flaps of the envelopes by preliminarily or initially disengaging the flap from the envelope body in case it has adhered thereto and subsequently performing further operations thereon which insure permanent opening of the flap. V

In addition, my machine eliminates any bulge in the interior of the envelope that is ordinarily present when the flap is turned to its open position, and the envelope comes from the machine in such condition that there are no obstructions in the path of any matter that it is desired to insert in the machine, and. that by eliminating this bulge, the chances of fouling envelope filling machines are greatly reduced.

WVhat is claimed is:

1. An envelopev opening machine comprising a-magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feeding envelopes from said magazine,-means for changing the direction of travel of the body of the envelope without changing the direct-ion of travel of the flap, whereby the body is flexed away from the flap to initially separate the body from the flap, and pressing rolls for gripping the envelope adjacent-the line of fold of the flap while the envelope is being flexed. 7

2. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, meansfor feeding envelopes from the magazine, and deflecting arms normally in the path of travel of the envelope for flexing the bodies of the envelopes away from the flaps thereof.

' 3. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack 01' envelopes, means for feeding envelopes from said magazine, deflecting arms normally in the path of travelof the envelope for flexing the body of the envelope away from the flap thereof, and meansfor swinging the deflecting arms out of the path of travel of said envelopes.

4. An envelope opening machine comprising amagazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feeding the envelopes from said magazine, oscillating deflecting arms normally in the path of travel of said envelopes for flexing the body of the envelopes away from the flap thereof, and means for oscillating said arms out of the path of travel of said envelopes. r

5. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted'to receive'a stack of envelopes, means for feeding the envelopes from said magazine, oscillating deflecting arms normally in the path of travel of said envelopes for flexing-the body of the envelopes away from the flap thereof, means for oscillating said arms out of the path of travel of said envelopes, and means for varying the oscillation of said deflecting arms.

v 6. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to'receive a stack of envelopes, means for intermittently feeding envelopes from said magazine, oscillating deflecting arms normally in the path of travel of the envelopes for flexing the'same, pressing rolls for gripping the envelope adjacent the line of fold of the flap while the envelope is being flexed, means for intermittently removing said deflecting arms from the path of travel of the envelopes, and common driving means for the feeding means and the means for oscillating the deflecting arms.

7. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feeding envelopes from the magazine, means for changing the position of the envelope flap from closed to open position, a blade over which the back of the envelope is drawn to permanently break the flap fold line, and spaced tensioning means for gripping the envelope in advance and in rear of the blade.

8. An envelope opening machine compris-' ing a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feeding envelopes from the magazine, means for changing the posi-.

open position, a longitudinally adjustable blade over which the back of the envelope is drawn to permanently break the flap fold line, and rolls'arranged in pairs and engaging the envelope in advance and in rear of the said blade.

10. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feeding envelopes from the magazine, means for changing the position of the envelope flap from closed to open position, a vertically adjustable blade over which the back of the envelope is drawn to permanently break the flap fold line, and rolls arranged in pairs and engaging the envelope in advance and in rear of the said blade. I

11. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feeding envelopes from the magazine, means for changing the position of the envelope flap from closed to open position, a longitudinally and vertically adjustable blade over which the back of the envelope is drawn to permanently break the flap fold line, and rolls arranged in pairs and engaging the envelope in advance and in rear of the said blade.

12. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feedingenvelopes from said ma azine, means for changing the position of t 1e envelope flap from closed to open position, means for bending the envelope rearwardly over an ironing blade to permanently break the fold line between the envelope body and the flap, and means for tensioning the envelope while in engagement with said blade.

13. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feeding envelopes from said magazine, means for changing the position of the envelope flap from closed to open position, means for bending the envelope rearwardly over an ironing blade to permanently break the fold line between the envelope bodyand the flap, and means for tensioning the envelope While in engagement with said blade.

14. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, meansfor feeding envelopes from said magazine including a plurality of pairs of feed rolls, means for initially opening the flap of the. envelope, an ironing blade between two pairs of feed rolls and having its forward edge projectingbeyond the line of travel of an envelope between the pairs of feed rolls and adapted to engage the rear face of the envelope, whereby the envelope is bent over the edge of the ironing blade to permanently break the flap fold line.

15. Anenvelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means for feeding envelopes from said magazine, means for changing the position of the envelope flap from closed to open position, the feeding means including a plurality of pairs of feed rolls, an ironing blade having its edge projecting beyond the line of travel of an envelopebetween two of the pairs of feed rolls and engaging the rear face of the envelope, and means for driving one pair ,of feed rolls faster than the other, whereby the envelope is tensioned over the edge of the ironing blade.

16. An envelope opening machine comprising a magazine adapted to receive a stack of envelopes, means, for feeding envelopes therefrom, a plurality of pairs of feed rolls between which the envelope is fed, means for flexing the envelope between two pairs of rolls initially disengaging the envelope flap from the body thereof so that the flap extends in a substantially horizontal plane and straddles one of the feed rolls of one pair, whereby further feeding of the envelope causes the flap to be flattened into the same plane as the plane of the envelope body, and further means Y for causing said flap to permanently remain in such plane.

17. The method of opening envelopes which consists in initially separating the flap from the body thereof and causing the flap to assume a substantially horizontal position, subsequently flattening out said flap into the same plane as the plane of the envelope'body, and then bending the envelope rearwardly over a relatively sharp edge and at the same time moving the envelope across said edge, whereby the fold line of the flap is broken and the flap remains permanently in the plane of the body of the envelope.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 17 day of October, 1928.

E. L. BOUTON. 

